LOS ANGELES, CA – Luka Doncic returned to the floor after missing three games due to an ankle and knee sprain and led the Mavericks to a 112-104 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Clippers Tuesday night.
The Luka magic is back and much needed. The Dallas Star was out three games due to an ankle and knee injury and the Mavs went 0-3 with him missing in action.
Head Coach Jason Kidd expressed to the media days prior to the Clippers game that the decision to have Luka play would be a game day decision.
Luka stated before Tuesday night’s game that the pain was still there but that he was going to play in the game against the Clippers.
Doncic ended the night just shy of a triple double with 26 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists. Doncic was happy to be back on the floor as he expressed his excitement in the post game press conference.
“Mentally, I was really happy to be back, you know?” Doncic said. “I miss basketball. I know it’s only been three [games], but like I said in the morning, I will do everything possible to play the game. I felt great after I woke up from my nap, and I was just ready to go.”
Kristaps Porzingis has also done very well since returning from his back injury. We have seen consistent play out of him which we haven’t seen in a while. He led the Mavs last night in scoring with 30 points, seven rebounds, and one assist.
Dorian Finney-Smith added 17 points and Tim Hardaway Jr. added 13 points to help Dallas come away with a much needed victory to end the four-game Western Conference road trip.
Dallas went 1-3 on the road with three of the four games being without Luka. None of the games were blowout losses and all were within single digit points. With that being said, Dallas needs to be completely 100 percent healthy if they want to have a chance in the Western Conference.
Dallas sits at fourth in the Western Conference behind the Warriors, Suns, and the Jazz.
The Mavericks move to 10-7 on the season and will have a four day break for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to the game Saturday night at 7:30 to take on the Wizards in Dallas.
